Bee Conservative

The Sustainable Farms team conducted a study of bee pollination activity at six blueberry farms in the Willamette Valley and wrote a conversation plan for the Berggren Demonstration Farm.

You can read their conclusions here:

Download the Pollinator Monitoring Report  which concludes that bumblebees are generally better pollinators.

Download the Pollinator Conservation Plan which makes recommendations for habitat that supports native bumblebees.

A summary and informative links from the Sustainable Farms team website:

Pollinator Monitoring Report 
 

Overview

We monitored the pollination services of native bees and honeybees at six blueberry farms in the Willamette Valley region. We established three transects at each farm where we conducted a quantitative survey on the number of pollinators, and a qualitative survey of their behavior. Each transect was monitored three times, during three different monitoring periods at least a week apart. The intent of this research is to gain a greater understanding of bee pollination in the area, and how various factors affect the presence of native pollinators.

Monitoring Results

Our results showed that honeybees, on average, pollinated 3.52 flowers per minute and bumblebees pollinated 11.22 flowers per minute. From the population study, we found that honeybees were more abundant than bumblebees, although there was no strong correlation between population counts and other variables. To compare the overall effectiveness of honeybees and bumblebees, we found that at certain sites bumblebees were more effective at pollinating blueberry bushes, even with lower presence. These sites had the higher habitat assessment scores, which indicate a better site for native pollinator habitat. The implications of our research are that bumblebees are three times more efficient at pollinating blueberry flowers than honeybees, which occurs at farms with better habitat for native bees.
 

    

 

 

Pollinator Conservation Plan

The Pollinator Conservation Plan was created for the Berggren Demonstration Farm. It includes recommendations for best management practices, and designs for an educational Pollinator Garden, Pollinator Hedgerow, and Bioswale.

Below, there is an aerial photograph of the Berggren Demonstration Farm. Each color represents a different part of the farm.

 Red = Berggren Farmhouse, location of the future Pollinator Garden

Blue = Lower Terrace, location of the future Pollinator Hedgerow 

Purple = Upper Terrace, the Bioswale will be located in a drainage ditch that runs along its western edge

Green = Escarpment, pollinator-friendly habitat containing woody debris
 

 

 

Read the Cascade story.